Nov 15 2009
Book Review: Ender’s Game
If I’m going to separate the art from the artist for actors like I proclaimed on my review of The Ugly Truth then I have to do the same for authors of books too. I’ve heard things come out of Orson Scott Card’s mouth that don’t exactly please me. And we’re not talking weird, mildly offensive stuff but proclamations that debase certain human beings and question not just their morality but their existence on this planet. I have been deeply offended by Orson Scott Card and I’m not even a victim of his verbal tirades.
But I said I’ll separate the art from the artist and I shall. So I decided to dip into the ‘modern classic’ Ender’s Game which has been recommended to me by numerous people of all ages, sizes and genders. Thankfully, there is no social commentary in Ender in regards to the author’s views on homosexuality (though many aspects of the book, ironically, can be considered homoerotic) and the yarn spun is about a child faced with protecting the entire human race at great cost.
Ender is a genius six year old boy picked by the government to be its saviour against the Third Invasion from an alien race simply known as the Buggers. Ender is taken from his family (loving sister Valentine, hateful, psychotic brother Peter and indifferent parents) by Colonel Graff of earth’s military and is brought to Battle School where he and hundreds (or thousands) of other kid geniuses engage in practice combat. The school exists to breed generals of the future. Over the next few years Ender deals with losing his family, making new friends (and enemies) and becoming the savior of humanity he is expected to be as the Third Invasion approaches. Meanwhile, Valentine and Peter, geniuses in their own rights, manipulate the media on Earth and, at the young ages of 12 and 10, respectively, begin to influence policy and action. Naturally, it will all come to a head and the three siblings will meet.
Ender’s Game is oppressively boring at first. Card’s universe is vague and uninteresting mainly because it literally consists of Ender’s first few years in Battle School pissing people off, crying and engaging in weird video games. The book eventually picks up steam when Ender becomes a hard, uncaring (but still gifted) military genius and the proceedings carry more weight and substance (as the danger level is increased). The side storyline involving Valentine and Peter threatened to take over my interest which is sad since the main crux of the book is about Ender but Card, after a slow start, starts to build paranoia in the reader (and Ender) by making you question: ‘is any of this real?’
Well after its half way point the book leaves the Battle School and enters the ‘real’ universe and that is when things become interesting and engaging beyond whiny, preteen stuff. I can’t tell you how much I loathed the Battle School segments. The real shame is that it took over 200 pages to get out of the Battle School (and the book is only 326 pages long). So in a mad scramble for my attention Card ends up building considerable tension and excellent universe building for me to buy the sequel Speaker of the Dead.
I want to recommend because very few books make me go out and buy the sequel as soon as I’ve put the book down. But I have to rate Ender’s Game so low due to the terrible opening 200 pages that provide awful character/universe building and some of the most awkward internal monologues and prose choices I’ve seen in literature. I was never bored but definitely found myself enjoying-to-hate the book as opposed to simply enjoying it. But, like Lord of the Rings, if you can make it past a certain point, Ender’s Game becomes a fantastic book with even a few twists (though, I saw them coming miles ahead of time; it didn’t ruin their impact on the characters however). I don’t think it deserves the classic label nor did it deserve the sweep of sci-fi awards it received (Nebula and Hugo Awards) but it does, at least, deserve your attempted read-through.
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I have to disagree with this one. Ender’s Game is one of my all-time favorites, including the parts at Battle School. To me, the striking parts are the relationships formed, and just how far the adults were willing to go. I think it definitely deserves the laurels.
I read it in 4th Grade, my oldest son is reading it now, and I hope he has his son read it too. Perhaps when I have more time, I’ll give it another read and give a more thorough review of the first 200 pages.
Don’t bother with Speaker, Xenocide, or Children of the Mind–way downhill from Ender’s Game. I *Would* check out Ender’s Shadow. That series should have been the real sequels to Ender’s Game.
And yes, Card’s political views are morally repugnant. I have to remind myself sometimes that he is a good author.
Yeah man, I just can’t agree with you. The book seemed so mediocre and the writing style made me want to stab myself with a feathered pen.
That said, Card rallied man! I ended up really liking the book at that point.
I’m going to read Speaker regardless of everyone telling me to read Shadow because a)I don’t listen to anyone and b)the parts of Game I connected with might be in Speaker. Who knows. Well you do. . .but I’m not listening!
Haha. . .I will read Shadow after Speaker.
Ender’s game was a favorite as a kid, i re-read it as an adult and this book fully stood up over time. I have given it as a gift to sci fi lovers and non-sci fi lovers. Even the German translation of this hooked my brother in law.
The first two Ender books are fantastic. But you can stop reading after that.
I found the book engaging from the beginning. I really don’t think it was a book that took a long time to draw me into the world like you seem to feel.
There have been some books turn me off at first and when I return weeks (or even years) later, they turn out to be on my all time favorite list (Gene Wolfe springs to mind,) but for me, the first two Ender books were ones I could not put down from the first few pages. I am pretty sure I read the first book in one or two sittings.
Maybe it was this kind of hype then that ruined it for me. I went in reading seeing all these glowing reviews that I suppose it couldn’t live up to it in the end. . .the Episode I effect, we’ll call it.
I’ll re-read it sometime later and see how it stands. I haven’t heard anything but bad things about book 2 so I’ll probably end up loving it. haha.